CrowdProperty unveils £100m City funding line

CROWDPROPERTY has secured a £100m institutional funding line, which it says will enable it to fund larger projects and originate more opportunities for retail investors.

The peer-to-peer property lender said on Thursday that an unnamed “major financial institution” will lend up to £100m through its platform over the next 12 to 24 months.

The announcement comes shortly after CrowdProperty hit three milestones, having lent more than £30m to help develop 500 British homes worth more than £80m.

“Institutional capital improves CrowdProperty’s capacity to fund larger projects, which we are seeing more and more of from our very successful direct origination strategies,” said Mike Bristow (pictured), chief executive of CrowdProperty.

“This increases our appeal to borrowers and brings in additional income, allowing us to invest further in our origination strategies, leading to a greater number of project applications. This will result in an ever-increasing number of quality opportunities for retail investors to employ their capital and earn inflation-beating, first-charge secured returns with us.”

Bristow went on to herald the benefits of a diverse investor base, which he said leads to “a more sustainable economic marketplace”.

“SME property developers are poorly served by traditional lenders yet are increasingly important in tackling housing under-supply and developing the 300,000+ homes needed every year to meet the nation’s demand,” he said. “The support of this institution and our loyal lender base means that we can provide more and more property professionals completing quality property projects with quick, straightforward finance and outstanding service, no matter the economic climate.

“The introduction of financial institutions to our funding mix will only grow the number of quality investment opportunities available on our platform. We will continue to stay true to the core ethos of P2P lending – the additional capacity, especially at larger project sizes, will drive more high-quality, first-charge secured lending opportunities for every investor, big or small, with the reassurance that our robust due diligence processes have met, and will continue to meet, the highest possible standards.”